


Chamber 18

by altairattorney



Category: Portal (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Mild depictions of death and violence, Suicidal Ideation, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-24 09:01:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20355877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/altairattorney/pseuds/altairattorney
Summary: In chamber 18, steps away from the end, the acid finally gets to her.





	Chamber 18

In chamber 18, steps away from the end, the acid finally gets to her.  
  
She wouldn’t mind – mere minutes ago, she didn’t. One jump ahead, a moment, is enough to change it all. A wave of smell hits her trajectory, and her knees twist, nauseated.  
  
She can no longer ignore it, her mind warns, in a blur. It is _everywhere_.  
  
She sits at the threshold of her solitary platform, a rock amidst the ocean. Her feet swing idly over the fumes, caressing the concept of death. 

No way out to be seen – only a velvety carpet, made of iridescent, lethal mush.  
  
The acid does not hide, she tells herself. It grows like rainfall, unrelenting, in the forest of poles she vaults between. You couldn’t if you tried – things too corrupt, too deadly, to remain concealed forever.  
  
She closes her eyes. In her fancy, she lets it rise. She pictures it bursting with chemical hunger, to devour her whole – and for a moment, in bliss and mortal fear, she dissolves to caress her fellow subjects, eaten by a fate too strong for them all.  
  
Food chain, she muses, dreamily dead. Natural. Unfair.  
  
Her gaze bring her back to reality. The expanse of acid, ever present, lies motionless in its non-life. On the other end, nearly invisible, her metal lighthouse waiting to be grabbed.  
  
A goal, she thinks. Better than nothing.  
  
She must survive. The tide of her imperative tears her away from her grim reverie. She has to go, and take care of things herself.  
  
Because if she doesn’t, no one – not here, not anywhere – is going to do it in her stead.

**Author's Note:**

> A fanfic musing on the grim current state of the world, on violent survivor fantasies, and coping with/defeating depression. No game is ever going to convey that like Portal. 
> 
> Chamber 18 is a special place, convoluted and terrifying. Soundtrack: Self Esteem Fund (Portal OST).


End file.
